Seeking Comfort in Shadows
by Blessed by Farore
Summary: Shadow hadn't thought he was important enough for the Links to concern themselves with bringing him back. He was proven wrong, but that didn't change the fact that he wasn't on the best of terms with them. Learning to trust again would be a difficult process, but the heroes were certain they could make it work.
1. Chapter 1

Shadow was warm. There was an uncomfortable, slightly suffocating weight settled across his entire body. His head was elevated a bit on something that was soft. Which meant that his head rested on a pillow. He must have been placed in a bed for some reason. That was odd, since he usually slept on the floor, and didn't remember ever getting a bed (unless one counted the one he brought Vio, but he had that one destroyed). It did explained the warmth over him and softness against his back, though. It didn't matter much to him, he just wanted to sleep and–

Shadow threw the blankets off his body as he sat up in looked down at his body. His body. A body which should have been incorporeal. Intangible. Nonexistent. He was dead. He remembered dying. He remembered how it felt and everything. He sacrificed himself and should have lost everything that made him _him_. This was impossible.

He looked around himself, familiarizing himself with his surroundings. It seemed like he was in Hyrule Castle once again. In what looked to be some kind of infirmary. So, either the heroes had won and brought him back, or Ganon wanted to trick him into getting a false sense of security before he decided to punish Shadow for his huge betrayal. Which would really suck, since he already died and lost everything. He really didn't want to find out if Ganon could make everything worse. Especially if he managed to bring Vaati back as well - that would really be the icing on the total lack of cake.

The room was pretty bare. There didn't seem to be any hints as to what had happened. It was quite all around. Shadow couldn't see any windows due to the curtains set up for patients privacy, but it seemed to be day time, possibly early morning. He couldn't make out any monster behind the curtains, but there weren't any Hylians either. The room was rather quiet except for the songs of a few birds outside. His little bedside table only had a glass of water and a small mirror.

Shadow did a double-take at his reflection.

Shadow supposed he should look at the bright side. There was definitely no way Ganon or Vaati had been the ones to resurrect him. He also, apparently, mattered enough to the heroes to be resurrected (that or they considered his resurrection something to do in their spare time). It really couldn't have been an easy process for them, considering it clearly took them a long, long time. If Shadow had to guess, around the three-to-five year range, since it seemed like he had aged quite a bit. A young adult from what he could see.

It took a bit of time to wrap his head around it, but once he did, Shadow parted the curtain to examine the room properly. It was quiet, but it wasn't as empty as Shadow had originally thought it was.

He felt a little dizzy, in a way. Vio sat on a chair near the door, hunched over with a tea cup beside him on a desk and a book he must have dropped when he dozed off. That was the one person Shadow wanted to see the most – the person he wanted to hug and take care of because he was exhausted and brought him back. It was _his_ Vio. Yet Shadow couldn't, because he was battling with the pain from his betrayal. Almost murdered in his sleep by the one person he had allowed himself to trust. He wanted to slap him and scream at him until he lost his voice. It was messy and painful and complicated, and he didn't know what to do with himself.

Shadow took a couple of seconds to calm himself down, before he did anything that could cause himself embarrassment and a couple of years of emotional turmoil, and decided to do two very simple things. The first thing he did was pick up Vio's book and place it neatly on the bench beside him. After all, Vio would be furious if he found out that a book was damaged – even if he was the one to have damaged it. The second thing he did was give Vio a small look over. After all, he seemed different now that he was older.

Vio's hair was a little bit paler than he remembered, and long enough to pull back into a short ponytail. It was a bit messy and loose, probably due to fatigue. His outfit was a little different as well. A purple tunic with gold embroidery for a touch of style. He had archer bracers, and a strange piece of fabric that he had dropped to the floor. Shadow couldn't tell what it was and didn't care enough to examine it properly at that moment. Vio also had pierced ears, which Shadow couldn't figure out how he felt about for some reason. Still, he was definitely Vio – there was no way he could be anyone else, Shadow knew him too well to be deceived.

At least, by anyone other than him.

Though the different attire gave Shadow an idea. It didn't take much energy, and it was some pretty simple magic for someone like him. He was brought back in the same clothing he had died in, so it couldn't hurt to change it a little. The tunic mimicked Vio's, except mostly black with purple embroidery instead. He replaced his tights with much more comfortable pants and shifted the belt on his waist a bit. Feeling a little plain, he added a spaulder and Gerudo styled earrings. He was technically a Gerudo, being (kinda) raised by their king, and he really did know and admire a lot about their culture.

The door opened, "Thank the Holy Three, you're finally awake."

When Princess Zelda walked through the door, Shadow's breath was taken away. He supposed he should have realized that she would have looked different as well, considering the amount of time that had past. The princess was still taller than him, probably still taller than the other Links as well. He red hair was longer now, and flowed freely down her back. Her attire seemed more regal and mature, accompanied by a crown that made it clear who she was. Shadow could have sworn that she had more freckles than when he last saw her. The only thing that remained completely the same were her eyes, very blue and full of kindness and wisdom. This was the one person he knew he could trust.

"It's good to see you again, Your Highness" Shadow gave a little bow.

She snorted, "First, it would be 'Your Majesty' now. Second, I think we're at the point where we can skip formalities, Shadow. Now come give me a hug, I've missed you."

Shadow complied easily, "I suppose I should congratulate you on becoming queen?"

"I'm more interested in how you're doing right now" she looked genuinely concerned, "That was kind of the first time I resurrected someone from the dead."

As much as Shadow wanted to complain about her concern (her expression was just way too pitying), he relented and allowed her to fuss. He did owe her one, after all, and it wouldn't be fair if he yelled at her. But only this once. The next time she did so, he would remind her not to do so again. He was pretty sure she would listen. Instead he made a show of examining himself and flexing a little bit, just to get a laugh. He didn't need to though, he had already magically check himself over before he left the bed.

"I'm good" he answered, "Great even. This body isn't exactly the same as my original one. You made it so that I could walk in sunlight without damage."

A freedom Ganon had denied him to ensure his loyalty - a lot of good that did the pig.

"Thank the Three. Though I must admit that I didn't just come here to check on you. And I'd hate to ask you to do something after you've just woken up..."

Sweet Farore, Shadow really didn't like where this was heading.

Shadow sighed, "Just this once. I'm still a mad at him for a lot of things."

"Thank you, Shadow" Zelda smiled and suddenly he felt guilty at the idea he could have denied her his assistance, "Usually Blue moves him when he falls asleep somewhere, but the other three had to leave urgently. They took a couple of knights with them, since Vio was staying behind and we lost quite a few knights in the past years. This is a big help."

Shadow felt like the goddesses themselves were against him as he gently wrapped his arms around Vio and pulled him to his chest. To make matters worse, Vio snuggled into him. It hurt, that something that he once thought would bring him joy, only threatened to make him cry from heartbreak. He still couldn't stop himself from shifting Vio so he'd be more comfortable, double checking his head wouldn't be resting against any armor he added. The little queen gave a knowing smile that made Shadow tense, but she said nothing as she picked up what Shadow belatedly realized was a hood.

Zelda led the way, talking softly the whole time. Shadow lost concentration every time he looked at Vio's peaceful expression. Heart cracking just a little bit more each time.


	2. Chapter 2

Vio ran a brush through his hair. It was rushed, not as thorough as he usually was when he got ready for the day. That was hardly his fault, however. He had woken up in his room, when he had specifically told everyone he didn't want to leave Shadow's side until he woke up. He must have fallen asleep, and his teammates must have thought that it would have been better if he rested in his own bed. Even though the infirmary had plenty of beds available, and they could have just moved him to any of them.

It didn't help that Vio still felt a bit groggy. And there were pangs in his stomach that insisted he get a proper meal on the way there. Had he really neglected his body that much? It didn't seem so bad at the time. Though, the past week had been rather interesting, to say the least. After over three years of hard work, searching, studying... he had finally found a way to bring back Shadow. Nothing else had mattered when he found what he needed. It had caused a bit of conflict between him and the others, but at least he could see Shadow once again. He could worry about himself later.

When the door opened without a knock, Vio knew who it was instantly, "Do you have any sense of privacy, Blue?"

"Like it really matters" was his reply, "I came to check on you. Breakfast is almost ready."

The purple hero supposed Blue had a point. In the past few years, the other's pointed out that whenever he got in a particularly bad mood (typically an annual thing that aligned with few certain weeks that had been part of their adventure) Vio tended to get so involved in his studies that worked himself ill. After passing out the first time, the others decided to take it upon themselves to make sure it didn't happened again. Blue especially had been the one to get most involved, as he was the only one who could physically manhandle him into compliance and the only one that could actually carry him when he did pass out or fall asleep somewhere. It had gotten past the point where it was awkward, unfortunately.

"Could you bring me a plate? I'm heading to the infirmary to check on Shadow" he answered.

"Shadow is in our dinning room. That's kind of why I was waking you up for breakfast, rather than just letting you sleep in" Blue countered with a smirk, "Apparently, Zelda had him move you while we were out dealing with monsters."

Vio was someone who had pride in their self control. He did not consider himself an impulsive or reckless person. So, it was almost a bit surprising at how much of a struggle it was to not bolt out of the room to go to Shadow. However, Vio found himself becoming much more concerned with his appearance at that statement. Especially since he only just realized how bad he really looked at the moment - messily brushed hair, dark circles under his eyes and a bit paler than usual. He fought down a grimace at the thought - how could he manage to make a worse impression than he had when he had spent almost an entire day in an evil forest.

Blue sighed, "Come on, pretty boy. Alright fine, you look like crap, but it won't matter anyway. Shadow's already in a dick-ish mood. He's decided he's pissed at us for what happened nearly four years ago."

"He has his reasons" though Vio couldn't help but feel some guilt at that.

It didn't when he finally turned to face Blue. He had abandoned his cloak somewhere, letting Vio see the full extent of the damage from battle he had missed out on. Blue hated being dirty, so the fact that he still wore his dirt-covered tunic meant that he must have been exhausted from the fight, or busy when he had finally returned. His undershirt's sleeves were rolled up and his gloves were removed, probably because he was planning to eat soon rather than after a much deserved bath. His eyes didn't even hold their usual fire - he just looked tired and annoyed.

"Hurry up already, I'm hungry enough to eat a Dodongo" Blue snapped.

Vio shook his head at the statement and walked out of his room, closing the door behind himself as he did so. Getting private quarters weren't things that most knights had the privilege of. In fact, most knights stayed in the barracks. However, being heroes and then a being promoted to a special group of knights changed a lot of things. They were currently only out-ranked by their father and the queen, and since they were the most capable of defending the queen, they got to stay nearby in case of an emergency. It came with a lot of perks, like being closer to the library and having their own kitchen to prepare meals at unusual hours.

When they entered the dining room, the first thing Vio noticed was the smell. Red must have gotten excited, because he was making what he considered 'special' breakfast foods - food that wasn't the most healthiest start to the day. He only ever made it when he felt there was a need for celebration. Green looked like he was about to fall asleep right at the table - he hadn't even noticed when Vio had entered the room. And sitting right on the windowsill, ignoring everyone around him with a scowl, was Shadow.

It brought a smile to his face to see Shadow, especially since he looked so full of life. It was a far cry from how he looked the night before. Vio wanted to say something, anything, but he wasn't sure what. He couldn't act like nothing had happened, especially when Shadow definitely didn't feel that way. And he highly doubted 'hey, sorry I tried to kill you when you weren't actually evil' was the best way to start a conversation that didn't end with someone hurt. He was saved the trouble when Shadow decided to glance over at him.

"So you're awake" the tone wasn't polite and it suggested that there was something else he wished to say.

"And so are you" Vio replied with what he hoped was a kind smile, "It's good to see you."

Shadow nooded, "Yeah, you too."

That caught Vio's attention. He hadn't misheard it, he saw Blue tense in his peripheral vision. It caused Shadow to raise an eyebrow in question, "I did, ya know, sacrifice myself for you. It would have sucked if that had been in vain 'cause y'all died anyway."

"Hylia Almighty, do you think you could stop being an ass for like five seconds? I'm too hungry and tired to deal with this Bulbinshit."

"Language Blue!"

Green's voice was loud and firm. It didn't match his body language (his head rested in a hand and he was tiredly slumped over the table) but it was enough to cause Blue to look a little contrite. Blue looked away, probably to avoid the smug look Shadow had decided to give him over the fact that Green had taken his side. Though, it was probably more that no one wanted to deal with what happened when someone used vulgar language around Red. It made the kindest hero the most terrifying very quickly. No one wanted to be on the receiving end of that.

"Shadow, if you don't mind, I wish to speak with you privately after breakfast. I think we need to talk about certain things" Vio stated.

Shadow gave him a pointed look, "Really? I wonder why you'd feel that way. Done some self _reflection_ recently?"

Blue huffed and walked over to the breakfast table. Purposefully taking a seat that meant that his back was too Shadow - both a show of trust, and a way to keep him from having to see what trouble Shadow causing. Vio had to admit, as justified as his anger was, this was the most petulant Vio had ever seen Shadow act. Though commenting on it certainly wouldn't help the situation at all, so Vio decided to keep quiet on that.

Red walked in with a tray of mugs, "Breakfast is finished! Blue, could you help me with the food while I hand out everyone's drinks?"

"Yeah, sure" Blue answered, "Did you get into the caffeine or sugar again? You don't seem tired?"

"That's because I'm not tired, Blue" Red replied as he handed out the cups.

"Well, that seems unrealistic. I'm tired, Green's tired, Vio is tired - and he didn't even fight against those monsters. Meanwhile, you're bouncing around like a Keese that's high on Odd Mushroom" Blue retorted.

"Well I guess that means that you and Green need to work on your stamina" Red teased before he turned to Shadow, "I forgot to ask what you wanted, so I made a hot chocolate for you just in case. If you don't like it, you can give it to me and I'll replace it with juice or something."

"Oh. Thanks, I guess" Shadow said, looking at the mug curiously.

Red grinned, "I should go help Blue with the food now."

Vio couldn't help but smile as Shadow sniffed the hot chocolate before he took a cautious sip. His smile only grew when Shadow's eyes widened in surprised, then watched in astonishment as Shadow practically drank the whole thing in one go.


	3. Chapter 3

Shadow wasn't completely sure how he felt about breakfast. After so many years of living under Ganon's rule, struggling just to survive the harsh treatment, the meal he had just experienced felt so ridiculously mundane and domestic. It was almost _uncomfortably_ comfortable. And, for once, Shadow could see where the appeal of eating came from. The food that the Hinox ate were nothing compared to what Red had prepared. Who knew that bread tasted nice when you added things onto it, or just how sweet chocolate was? Apparently, chocolate could also be eaten, which Shadow was very interested in trying out.

It wasn't what he had expected to be treated too when he was resurrected. To be fair, the expectations weren't very high to begin with, but it was still a bit of a shock. Everyone seemed okay with his skepticism (even Blue seemed to respect his distrust - he seemed to only dislike how vocal he was about it). Shadow though that they might have tried to force him to forgive them since they saved him. But they seemed to respect his feelings. They were alright with him taking his time to adjust to things. It was almost weird.

During breakfast, a knight he vaguely recognised interrupted them. He apologized, but apparently there was something that Green needed to sort out - something about his father and issues. Shadow suspected that he may have had something to do with it, as the knight gave him a weird look. Green left after he finished eating and Blue insisted on going with him in case he felt too tired and collapsed somewhere. Vio finished early, and left with a small smile to him. Shadow was the only one left to help Red with the tidying up, not that Red seemed to mind. In fact, the kindest hero insisted on Shadow taking it easy. Though he seemed to back down when Shadow expressed some distaste at being pitied. Cleaning up wasn't something he did often, but it just felt so right to do something that was just... domestic.

"So, you're going to have a talk with Vio, right?" Red asked while washing the cups.

"I'm guessing you heard everything, then" Shadow scraped off a plate, "Yeah, I think I am. Don't know what good it will do though."

Red nodded, "I know that out of all of us, Vio is the one you're most mad at. And I kind of get it - it was kind of mean of him to trick you like that. It must have really hurt. He did it for the right reason, but I don't think I could ever do that myself."

"Yeah, I don't think I could ever do that either - and I was on the side of evil at one point" Shadow laughed bitterly.

"It was pretty bad. I consider you my friend, Shadow" Red smiled, "I don't know if you feel the same way, but I hope you eventually do if you don't already. But I also really care about Vio. And Vio was really upset when you died, really hurt. I'm not saying that you have to forgive him, because you don't - but I don't want to find out that you hurt Vio. So try not to, alright?"

Shadow was dumbstruck for a moment, "Uh, sure. I mean, if I wanted to be nasty, I'd still be working for Ganon and Vaati. So I'll keep your words in mind."

Red nodded, "Vio and Blue are kind of similar in certain ways. They don't usually like to say how they're really feeling. But you can tell how they really feel by their actions, and their reactions."

"I think I worked out that much myself, Red" Shadow replied, "Why are you so interested in talking about this anyway?"

"Well, I really like helping people. It's makes me happy knowing I made other people happy, so I like to try and do whatever I can to help those I can. It might seem silly, but I don't mind. I'm okay with being a bit silly."

Shadow sighed, "I think I kinda get what you mean. At least when certain people are involved. So, uh, thanks, I guess. It is kinda nice knowing that I have someone on my side. And I think we kind of are already friends."

"Great! I also wanted to know if tomorrow you wanted to bake cookies with me? And what your favorite kind are? You'll be settling in today, but I figured you might like the extra treat tomorrow" Red seemed excited just from the idea of cookies, there was more bounce in his step than usual.

"I've never really had cookies before, so I'm not really sure what my favorite kind are" Shadow shrugged.

At that moment Shadow wondered if he had made a mistake by admitting that he had never tried cookies before. While he didn't have the greatest grasp of Hylian culture, he had been certain that cookies weren't that important. And yet, Red completely stopped what he was doing, ears twitching as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard. It kind of threw Shadow off-kilter to see Red so still when mere seconds ago he was so lively and animated. Just how important were cookies to Hylians and what could Shadow do to get out the situation he got himself into?

Then Red turned with a fire in his eyes, "We're going to make every kind of cookie possible and then we'll find out which one is your favorite."

"That sounds like it could cause a huge mess and a lot of chaos. Actually, now that I think about it, that sounds like a whole lot of fun" Shadow snickered, "So what are we going to do with the extra cookies?"

"We'll probably just give them to others and Zel. Maybe even the Maidens, since they did a lot to help us out. And maybe some of the knights. Depends on how many we make" Red shrugged, "Now stop stalling and go find Vio. He should be in his room, but if he's not, it's either the library or Zelda's study - he doesn't like to train right before he does things that make him nervous, and he can't use his bow right now."

Shadow was tempted to ask what Red had meant by that statement, but he decided against it. He could easily ask Vio - the purple hero seemed to feel rather guilty, so it wouldn't be too hard to pull a couple of answer from him. Especially if it was because he forgot that he was supposed to be the smart Link. Shadow tried to recall earlier that morning. He couldn't remember anything weird or out of the ordinary about Vio. But he didn't exactly examine him all too much. Especially not his hands or arms. But nothing looked like it had been broken.

And why should he worry about it anyway? It's not like it was his fault or that he could have done anything to stop it from happening. _But..._ maybe. Also, Vio probably deserved it, it could just be a nice handful of karma. _But_ it _was_ Vio _, his Vio_. And it could also just be that he's an archer who surpassed the skill of all other archers in the castle, who broke his bow and required a custom made one to accommodate the draw weight his bows usually have. So he could just be getting worked up over nothing, misreading things like an idiot who would trust someone who would agree to betraying his friends.

Shadow didn't need to go searching around the castle. His magic was back, and while he couldn't do anything particularly fancy while he was still getting used to it again, it wasn't that hard to use his magic to find Vio's shadow. Once he was certain that he had the right hero, he concentrated and let himself shift through the shadows. He disliked this form of magical transportation despite using less energy than most. The shadows were rather cold, and yet, could be way too inviting to get lost in. Also, they lacked the effect other forms had, usually kind of ruining the dramatic entrance he liked to go for.

Vio was in his room. Clearly, cleaning up after a surprise attack from Vaati from the looks of the mess. Well, to be fair to Vio, it was an organised mess. The books were stacked in neat piles, and that was probably because the bookcases all looked like they were about to break if another book was added onto any of them. A couple of jars were scattered around on his desk, each of them filled with random things. There was a bow mount on the wall (with a bow) accompanied by a couple of other weapons. And Vio, of course, was standing there. His back was turned towards him as he hurried to tidy up the disorder of his bedroom. He had also changed - the clothes he wore were less crinkled - and his hair was much neater than it had been before. Which made Shadow a little bit amused thinking that the first thing Vio thought to do was to make himself more presentable, even though he knew Shadow had already seen him. How did he ever think this dork was cool?

"So was I meant to come later, or is now still a good time" Shadow leaned back against the wall with arms crossed, "I mean you did say after breakfast. I thought you meant directly after breakfast, but if that doesn't suit you... well that's just a shame."

Vio didn't jump in surprise, though his ears did twitch a little right before he turned, "Red seemed excited to talk to you, so I thought I would let him hold you hostage for a bit. Though we can talk now if you'd like."

Shadow tried to be subtle over the examination of Vio's hands, "I don't think I'd like to have this talk at all. Though there is a lot I would to say to you, and this conversation seems like the perfect opportunity to do it."

"I'm guessing Red hinted at what happened to me recently then?" the corners of Vio's lips quirked at that, "It's not really much of a story."

"Then it shouldn't take to long to tell" Shadow replied.

Vio nodded, "Archery forces you to focus on the present. Sine I have an aptitude for getting lost in my thoughts, I tend to utilise that a lot. It wasn't prudent of me, but a while ago, I spent a few hours straight just shooting targets. I stopped when I noticed pain in my shoulder, but I should've stopped sooner. I've had to decrease my shooting, as well as my draw weight, until I get officially told that I'm good. I also have some exercises to help the process."

"Is this something that happens often with you?" Shadow asked.

"Not exactly. I wasn't exactly unstable or anything when you died. I was desperate but I typically was able to take care of myself and put most of my needs first. There were just a few incidents were I wasn't able to do so, but that's completely on me" Vio replied with a frown.

Shadow nodded, not sure if Vio actually meant what he said or if he was just trying to give him some peace of mind about the whole thing. He didn't say anything and Vio was hesitant to start speaking too. This was a conversation they couldn't avoid. Yet neither of them wanted to start it. There was just too much pain and sadness and other problems. It was easier to just leave it resting under the surface, without properly acknowledging it. Even if that wasn't healthy or fair on either of them. The past was just way to muddled and dark between the two of them.

Finally, Vio spoke, "I'm sorry."

"Really? Couldn't have guessed" screw it, Vio deserved a bit of torment.

"I know apologizing doesn't make it right. And I know I can't apologize enough. But I do feel guilty, and you deserve to know that much at least" Vio's eyes were just too intense.

"Damnit Vio. It's not... It's not what you did that hurt, not really. I mean, I get why you did everything. To save Hyrule and Zelda. I get that. It's just" Shadow clenched his hands into fist, "Zelda was the one who knew I could be good. Zelda. The person who I kidnapped and was kinda cruel to. Not the person who I spent time with, the person who I trusted and considered my only friend. The only person I thought I could show kindness too. That was what hurt."

"That is my biggest regret, actually. I keep thinking about that... about how, if I had done things differently, then maybe you wouldn't have had to die. But... in the Tower of Flames... Shadow, I couldn't trust my judgement on you. It was a risk I wasn't willing to take. Even though I was clearly wrong and should have. And that is most why I'm sorry, Shadow" Vio said.

Shadow narrowed his eyes, "Why couldn't you trust your judgement, exactly?"

Vio looked away and took a shaky breath, "Did you know I did some research into Gerudo culture? I found some interesting facts about them and their customs. I also noticed how, to a Gerudo or someone raised with their culture, some my actions could have been misinterpreted. Which would have made my actions seem more cruel. It wasn't intentional but it... I..."

Oh. _Oh_.

"How. Dare. You" Shadow growled.

"Shadow, please-"

"Please what?! How could you say something like that?!" He snapped, "'Yeah, sorry for killing you, I thought that all your redeeming qualities were all things I made up because I was head over heels for you'. That really fixes everything Vio, thanks for telling me! I feel so comforted right now!"

Vio's face turned into an unreadable mask, "That was not what I meant, Shadow."

"Really? What did you mean exactly, Vio? I'm just dying to know - oh wait, already did that" Shadow was tempted to just leave, the conversation had been a stupid idea.

"I'm sorry, Shadow. I won't ask for your forgiveness, because I know I don't have that right. And I can understand if you never want to forgive me" Vio knelt on one knee with a hand over his heart, "But know this: you're the arbiter of my life, my heart and my fate. I will do whatever it takes to redeem myself for my actions. And if you decide you can never forgive me, I will accept that. If you do forgive me, but can only offer me friendship, I will accept that as well. But I swear on my knighthood that I will never lie to you, or manipulate you, again."

Shadow summoned his powers again. This time, he didn't care what shadow he transported to, only that it was on castle grounds.


	4. Chapter 4

Today was just full of new experiences for Shadow. His favorite had to be the sunlight. His back rested on the warm brick of the roof of one of the castle's towers, as he watched the clouds pass by, pushed by the gentle breeze (that _was_ how they worked right?). It was peaceful, and difficult to get to if you couldn't fly, so he shouldn't be disturbed. Which was good, since the only people that would disturb him were those that were self-righteous, pitying or just Vio. All people he did not need to talk to right now. Especially anybody pitying, he could not live with himself if he cried and they decided to try and comfort him because he was just that pathetic. And if he broke down in front of Vio...

Why did Vio have to do this to him?

That was just how it was though. Shadow always knew that out of all the heroes, Vio was the most dangerous and the one most likely to ruin him. Of course, Shadow had original thought that his threat was more physical, but he had still been right. Though it was his fault in a way. He was the one who handed Vio everything he needed to destroy him, only to sit back and watch in admiration as he did just that. He had been the idiot who fell so deep, so easily, and let Vio play him like an lyre.

Shadow shook his head to clear his thoughts. What good would it do to sit around and recall the past? It was over, and the way things happened was better for Hyrule and for Hyrule's heroes than any other outcome could have possible come to. So, all that Shadow could do was accept it, and accept the fact that the person who attempted to kill him returned his feelings when he did so, and currently still did hold feelings for him. And he'd also have to deal with the fact that that person also was determined to make up for their past mistakes and possibly win over his heart. Which was difficult, because on hand he really missed Vio, and on the other hand he had no idea if he could really trust Vio.

His attention was caught by the sound of someone panting and grunting.

Blue hauled himself up onto the roof, with something tucked under his arm, "Don't you even think about disappearing. I climbed this fucking castle, and I will murder you if you make me climb down it just to chase you."

"Climbed or walked up the stairs and then climbed up a short distance from the balcony?" Shadow asked.

"Do you know how many stairs are in this tower? It took forever, alright" Blue glared, "And if you say anything about this to Red..."

Right, Red mocked his stamina that morning. Seemed like he was onto something, then.

Shadow waited for a moment as Blue struggled to catch his breath. As much as he didn't want to deal with Blue, he supposed that it would be unnecessarily cruel if he just left Blue up on the roof in the shape he was in. Especially since that would probably put him on everyone's bad side once they found out. Also, he was a little curious about what Blue had brought with him. So he sat quietly until the loud panting faded and his breathing returned to normal. The Blue moved himself so that he was seated a lot more comfortably, a book clutched tightly in one hand.

"How did you know I was up here?" Shadow asked, "And why are you here?"

"Where else would someone go who can teleport and fly go to brood when they can fly? Also, I could see your hat in the distance" Blue replied "And to talk, obviously. The others are worried - Red said he heard yelling earlier, and he thinks it was you but couldn't tell. Vio won't say anything either. And I've kinda jumped to this conclusion and want to clear it up."

Shadow huffed, not wanting to deal with any claims of still being evil, but he also didn't have enough energy to get rid of Blue, "Really? What could you possibly want to 'clear up'?"

"Nothing much - just your romantic feelings for Vio and the possibility of him returning them" Blue didn't give him time to react as he passed the book to him, "I found this is him room. It's an interesting collection of notes. Very _informative_."

There probably should have been a moral dilemma over going through Vio's private notes, but Shadow suddenly found himself pretty unconcerned about that when Blue hinted that this book itself was what made him suspicious of Shadow's feelings for Vio. The books seemed like a collection of facts that Vio had found interesting, or things that corrected what was meant to be common knowledge. Which even included some beautiful drawings for improved references (could all the Links draw, or was that something that was just a Vio thing?). Though he didn't have time to admire anything, as he was determined to find the section to lead to Blue's assumption.

When he found it he slammed the book shut, "Ya know, it wouldn't be hard to push you off the edge and act like it was an accident, right?"

"And you do realize that you just ruined any chance you had of convincing me that you didn't actually have feelings for him, right?" Blue retorted.

"Out of all the Links, you were the first one to figure it out" Shadow shook his head, "How?"

Blue rolled his eyes at that, "Oh please, I'm not as oblivious as you think I am. And Red _might_ actually be starting to suspect something is up. Anyway, it wasn't too hard to figure out. Vio being both invested and distressed by Gerudo courting rituals and customs seemed a bit bizarre. And he did point out that Ganon used to be a Gerudo Prince. You wearing Gerudo-styled accessories doesn't help either."

"Do I have to worry about you spreading this around? Or does it depend on if I do something for you?" Shadow asked.

"Fuck no. Unless I find out that Vio intentionally seduced you just to use you, which would be fucked up, it's not anyone else's business" Blue stated, "But I don't think Vio is that cruel. He tends to focus more on logic and reasoning than emotions, so I'll chalk it up to him being an idiot when it comes to feelings."

Shadow didn't know how to react to that, which led to him staring at Blue for a few minutes. He didn't think Blue liked him at all, and the headstrong hero kind of gave off vibes that he valued loyalty over morality - that in the end, the ends justified the means. And yet, here he was, implying that he'd make sure Vio was punished if he crossed a certain line intentionally. Maybe he misread Blue, he did just 'climb' a castle tower just to check up on what was going on with him. And, it did seem like he was attempting to be comforting, in his own weird way.

When he recovered, he shrugged, "Emotions just aren't Vio's forte."

"Which is one of the reasons why he didn't notice you were trying to court him" Blue snorted.

"I was not trying to court him!" technically, he was just trying to woo him.

Shadow knew he couldn't completely blame Vio on that part. He had known that Hylian culture was different from Gerudo culture - even though they were both humans, they still had different ideas on things like marriage and romance. Gerudo were a race that was almost entire female, condemned to the desert with limited resources and monsters like Leevers and Moldorms. So, they're courting methods were developed about what seemed to matter most - power. The more power you wielded, the more you were likely to survive, and you were the better suited to protecting your loved ones. So Gerudo warriors seduced Hylian men by fighting each other to prove their strength, or fighting off large monsters. If they had magic, showing that off at every opportunity also helped.

Of course, the best thing you could do to really prove your affections would be to destroy the enemy of your potential partner.

And if your potential partner felt the same way, they should attempt to do similar for you.

Honestly, it seemed relatively simple and straightforward. Though he supposed Hylians, who were far better off and didn't need every member to be a warrior just to survive, would probably value different things. Maybe music and dance? Shadow had to admit that while he liked Gerudo music and traditional dances better, Hylains didn't do too badly in that department. Maybe showing off wealth was what they did to court people? After all, most of them seemed like the type to value money everything else.

Blue stood up and brushed himself off, "Well, this was a nice chat. I think you should come down and try to interact with people - Green wants to do his job as leader, show you and see you properly settled in, while making sure no one messes with you. Red is, for some reason, stealing so many cookie-related items I'm too scared to ask. And Vio misses you like crazy. So, yeah, join the land of the living. And you an keep the book for blackmail, if you want."

The last thing Shadow thought as Blue climbed down was just about how differently he had expected that encounter to go.


	5. Chapter 5

"Oh great, you're sulking."

Vio didn't even dignify Blue's comment with a response. There was no point, really, where Blue was concerned. It should have been admirable that he cared enough about his comrades to attempt to comfort them. However, Blue was not the best at being comforting, and his ability to read Vio was not as good as he thought it was. Vio was just keeping his mind active, and drawing was a task that required silence - at least in his opinion. That was why he was in such a secluded area. It had nothing to do with his mood.

Blue sighed, though it sounded annoyed, "Really? You're just going to ignore me?"

"Only when you make inane comments" Vio responded.

"And what if I mentioned that I talked to Shadow? Would that grab your interest?" Blue asked.

Vio paused for a moment, "I will admit that I am concerned about Shadow, so I wouldn't mind hearing what you have to say if that is the case."

"Bulbinshit! You're in love with him!" Blue stated.

"What gave you that impression?" Vio tried to keep his voice even.

"What did you think we talked about? Hair accessories?" Blue rolled his eyes, "I'm also not an idiot. Even Red is starting to suspect that something is up, and I wouldn't be surprised if Zelda knew as well."

Well, that didn't exactly ease his thoughts. He supposed he should have been glad that Shadow felt comfortable enough to talk about how he felt about Vio. But he would have preferred it if Shadow had come to him for comfort. Not to mention that he wasn't sure how much he told Blue. Though he didn't exactly lie about what happened in the Tower of Flame, he definitely omitted a few details. And he didn't really need to know that the others felt disappointed with him for just how cruel his plan ended up being. He already felt enough guilt for what happened.

"Look, I don't plan on gossiping or anything, so you don't have to worry about me telling other people" Blue sighed, "You can trust me to keep it a secret. And don't think that I'm judging you or anything, either. I get that it's complicated. So, I won't ask."

Vio nodded, "So what did you specifically say to Shadow?"

"Mostly that you're an idiot who, of course, would make mistakes when it comes to feelings. And that he should get off his ass and talk to the people that care about him. I also gave him some blackmail material to use against you" Blue smirked.

"And that was...?" Vio prompted.

"Only the rest of this" Blue stated as he passed some pages to Vio.

The first thing Vio had noticed was that the pages had been torn out carefully, to minimize damage to the writing and drawings. From those pages, Vio knew exactly which journal Blue had given Shadow. He wasn't sure how he felt about it. Grateful that Blue hadn't let Shadow seen something that would definitely cause more complications in their relationship, or furious that Blue had given Shadow one of his journals. He decided to settle in the middle, with a disappointed glare but no acknowledgement. Blue didn't even look the least bit contrite for his actions.

"Oh please, he'll give it back. He probably won't even read much from it, if he does at all. But it does mean that he has to at least talk to you to return it" Blue grinned.

"I never actually asked for help with my relationship" Vio replied, "I want Shadow to forgive me on his own terms. And I can live with him choosing not to."

Blue huffed, "First of all, you're a lying ass. We both know it. Second of all, you don't ask for my help, I give it to you whether you like it or not. It's the whole point of being your best friend."

"I didn't know we were best friends" Vio teased.

"Yeah, yeah, liar. The only other person who could possibly put up with you enough to be your best friend is Shadow, and he's definitely not interested at the moment" Blue responded, "And I think after everything we've been through, and everything I've done for you, that I would have earned that title. Despite the fact that I still think it's weird. And I'm not actually sure how it was possible."

"I think it was the 'easy get-along' mission that Green sent us on" Vio suggested.

Blue grimaced, "I can't believe he just stood there and laughed when we returned covered head to toe in slime. Our hair was green for _months._ We had to throw out our clothes because we couldn't get rid of it."

"But our plots for revenge certainly brought us closer together" Vio gave a small smile, "Even Red decided to let it slide. Until it got out of hand."

"Yeah. Or maybe it was that incident when you seduced the local librarian's daughter" Blue laughed.

Vio sighed, "I did not seduce her. There was a simple misunderstanding."

Blue didn't stop his laughter, "You visited every day, borrowing more books than one should possibly be able to read in a single night. Of course, she thought you were making up excuses to see her. You're lucky I managed to explain to her you were just a freak. And extremely gay."

"I think if we're talking about how lucky we are to have each other, then you should be grateful that I'm there to cover for you when you're drunk" Just to rub it in, Vio decided to add in a bit of impersonation, "'The point is... the point is... DOLPHINS.' Clearly, the more advanced your state of inebriation, the more eloquent and wise you become."

"I paid it back with the amount of times I had to carry you back to bed when you passed out from too much work" Blue retorted, "Also, I'll have you know that I could still kick your ass, no matter how drunk I am."

"Thank you. For everything. I know you're not fond of magic, bit it means a lot to me that you still spent time trying to help me bring back Shadow" Vio stated.

Blue shrugged, "We kinda did owe the guy for saving our lives, so of course I was going to help. You don't need to thank me."

Vio nodded with a sad smile, and looked over his sketch. It wasn't surprising that it was of the person who had consumed his thoughts over the last few years. In the drawing, Shadow sat on the windowsill of the castle, a steaming mug in hand. The sky was incomplete, but it was going to be a slightly cloudy morning when Vio was done with it. Vio leaned back against the wall he leaned on with a sigh, too many thoughts running through his head. Shadow had always made things complicated for Vio, but he never expected it to be this kind of complicated.

"I don't know what to do. I messed up, and now everything between me and Shadow has just fallen apart. I don't want to mess up again."

"Just keep doing what you're doing. You just give him some time to cool off and respect his boundaries, and he'll run back to you because he does miss you too" Blue replied, "I mean, it is a big mess, but it's clear that he has some understanding of why you did what you did. As long as you try to work on what went wrong last time, you have a chance of making it work."

"Therein lies the problem" Vio sighed.

Blue looked at him curiously, "What do you mean?"

"The biggest problem we had was honestly and communication" Vio answered, "This morning, Shadow left in a rush. I didn't lie to him, but there were some things he might need to know about me, that he doesn't."

"Like what?"

Vio didn't say anything, he just tapped his right ear which showcased an intricate ear wrap.

"Well that's just great" Blue's voice was needlessly sarcastic.

* * *

It wasn't too hard to find Green, even without using magic. However, Shadow didn't make himself known to Green straight away. He was talking to his father, and since some of the older knights seemed to have a problem with Shadow, he decided that staying out of the way would be the best course of action. For some reason, Shadow had the feeling that they may have gotten off on the wrong foot after the whole 'faking Link's death' thing. Yeah, he definitely couldn't see the heroes' father taking a liking to him.

On the other hand, he got a chance to properly see the differences Green had to Vio. Green's hair was probably the most similar to the original Link's hairstyle and color, though that was the only thing that remained the same. He wore a green tunic, with silver embroidery, over some chainmail. Instead of a hood like Vio, he had a long blue scarf. Dangling from his belt were four gems of four different colors (green, red, blue, purple) and shapes, as well as a pouch that held a red potion and a small dagger. A new sword rested on his back, the same way he had always had his swords, this time accompanied by a Hylian shield.

It seemed like there must have been something important going on in the castle, with how long the two had talked. Though it didn't seem like they were stressed over anything, that could be because they had gotten better at hiding their emotions over the years. After all, what else could they have to talk about? When Green's father finally left him alone, Shadow did a quick sweep of the area. When he was certain that they were secluded enough to not run into any issues, he made his way over to the hero.

"So..." Shadow realized he had no idea what to say, "... What's going on with the leader of the heroes?"

That wasn't the best, but it was good enough.

Green turned, "Oh, hey Shadow. Nothing much really. My dad is having some trouble with certain new trainees, but other than that, everything seems to be fine."

Shadow looked at him curiously, "Like what?"

"The usually. There are trainees who laugh in the face of danger, and then hide until it goes away. The trainees who don't want to do work, they just want to use the uniform to pick up girls" Green's expression turned sour, "And then there are the ones who think it's alright to harass their female companions just because they think it's a 'man's job'."

"The Queen can't be too happy with that kind of behavior" Shadow stated.

Green grinned at that, "Oh, Zelda definitely won't. That's what we're counting on, though. Last year, there was a group of guys who felt similar. So, we gave them a challenge - all of them versus a warrior of my choice. If they won, they could say or do whatever they wanted. If they lost, they had to sharpen every bladed weapon and polish every set of armor on castle grounds for a month. They agreed. I chose Zelda. She defeated them in three minutes."

Shadow laughed, "Did they try to claim that they held back because she was the queen?"

"Nope - right at the start of the fight, she told them that for every man that held back, that was another two months added" Green shook his head, "There were five of them. And they all wisely kept quiet."

"Remind me to never get on Zelda's bad side."

"Noted" Green chuckled, "Anyway, how have you been? I realized I never got the chance to show you around, so I was worried that you may have gotten lost."

"Yeah, I managed. No need for a tour" Shadow replied.

The castle hadn't changed much in layout since he had decided to destroy the place, which was a surprise, since you'd think that people would have taken the opportunity for remodelling. But, apparently, Hylians liked the layout of the castle the way it was. A few things were added, but otherwise there wasn't much change. Shadow already had a good idea of the layout anyway, from his years watching Link and Zelda run around like crazy, exploring every room of the place, through the Mirror. So, it hadn't taken much time to get used to it once again.

Green nodded, "Well that's good then. And has anyone filled you in on what happened in the past three, uh four, years?"

"I think Zelda might have... but I'm not too sure because I wasn't actually listening at the time" Shadow admitted.

"For someone who doesn't want to be on Zelda's bad side, you sure like to be risky about it, huh?" Green pondered for a moment, "Well, I guess I should start from the beginning. For starters, we had to split up again."

"Really? Couldn't tell."

"Your attitude isn't appreciated. Anyway, we had to split up due to issues with Link He had mood swings and seemed to talk to himself like there were voices in his head. We didn't neatly turn back into one person. So, Zelda had to split us up again with a spell that wouldn't unleash evil onto the land" Green stated.

Shadow smirked, "And here I thought you had all learnt to work together."

"Tell me about it" Green sighed, "Anyway, we quickly were made into a special group of knights who dealt with special problems - thanks to Ganon and Vaati, there were a lot of horrible monsters that needed to be stopped. And some that are laying low but are waiting to attack. In our spare time, we trained or helped look for clues to getting you back. Then we ran into a second problem - Vio had magic."

"That's impossible. Magic doesn't work like that" It really didn't, from Shadow's experience.

Green shrugged, "Vio and Zelda shared the same thoughts. But, the spell that split us had side effects. It called upon our spirit to split us apart, and apparently our spirit reincarnated. So, when Zelda casted the spell, she accidently gave each of us abilities that our past lives had. Blue has slightly heightened senses, Red has speed and agility, I picked up some techniques with a variety of weapons and Vio gained magic."

"Oh" Shadow muttered, "Is he good at it?"

"Define 'good'" Green replied, "He can enchant his arrows into elemental arrows, and he can occasionally create a magical shield. But other than that, he's not doing so well. He actually has to wear a seal on his ear, since his magic is too powerful for him to control. He's not meant to do any big magics unless Zelda or one of the Maidens around to guide his magic. I thought you would have known about that, since you spent this morning talking to him."

As much as Shadow would have loved to blame the whole thing on Vio, it wasn't exactly fair. He had been the one who left that morning. He hadn't even given Vio a chance to talk about it. And really, he did guess that what they did end up talking about was a lot more important than whether or not Vio could cast spells. While Shadow hadn't noticed anything on his ear, he hadn't actually been focused on Vio's ear anyway, so he couldn't actually claim that anyone was trying to deceive him. It kind of sucked.

And then Shadow's mind went to how tired Vio was that morning. Had Vio helped with bring him back? That could have been incredibly dangerous, especially if he couldn't control it. After all, he wouldn't be able to control how much power he actually poured into the spell. And with the way Vio had acted, it seemed like he may not have cared if he had. He didn't even seem to mind when Shadow had yelled at him for his feelings. That just made things more needlessly complicated between them, in ways that Shadow really didn't like.

"He didn't mention it. Though I can help him train with his magic" Shadow continued.

Green smiled, "That would be great. It would be nice to have Vio's abilities a little more reliable."

"Definitely" Shadow agreed.

Besides, it would give him a chance to talk with Vio, without having to forgive him or the tension of their emotions getting in the way.


	6. Chapter 6

The night came with a sense of comfort that Shadow just couldn't explain. The light of day may have been a joy to experience, but that didn't change the fact that Shadow was used to the dark. He belonged to it. He danced in it. He thrived in it. Most learnt to fear the darkness; the way it twisted and corrupted everything it touched. The way it led innocent people astray in its deception. But for Shadow, the darkness was where he felt he was at his most powerful. There was nothing that could harm as long as he stayed within the dark.

At least physically, anyway. His mind, on the other hand, seemed very keen on tormenting him. Every thought distorted itself until nothing was left but _Vio_. So much had happened in just so little time, it was hard to take it all in. He'd been brought back by someone who betrayed him, who loved him, who may have actually physically brought him back through powerful (and dangerous) magic. It was just too much to take in. So, he decided to see if a stroll around the castle at night would help clear his head. At the very least, it would give him time to take everything in.

"Look who it is."

Shadow didn't recognize the voice. Nor did he recognize the faces of the two knights who had cornered him. Though, perhaps calling them 'knights' was not the correct term. They were dressed in the attire of knights-in-training, which meant that they were probably some of the trainees Green had mentioned caused a bit of trouble. It didn't take too long to guess how much trouble they had caused - one of them had their uniform on backwards, the other didn't have his sword's sheath properly attached to his belt, and neither of them seemed to that skilled at fighting based on their stances.

"You're that freak that kidnapped the queen all those years ago, ain't ya? You're gonna regret coming back here."

Shadow gave them a blood red glare, though he was tempted to just roll his eyes, "Trust me, you don't want to do this. You'll regret it."

They didn't reply, instead one of them tried attacking Shadow. Tried being the key word there. Honestly, shifting his state of being from corporeal to incorporeal was the most basic form of magic for someone like Shadow, and it was a stupid idea to face someone like him because of that. The only way to hurt him would be to use divine magic (or very powerful light magic), or to force him to remain in a solid form. Clearly, these guys didn't get that. One of the guys charged, tried to slice him, and ended up headbutting a wall. And now Shadow understood why Vaati and Ganon had only worried about a young princess and a child hero when they took over Hyrule - if these two represented the knights of Hyrule, they all needed to work on their skills. It was sad seeing them fight so poorly, after attempting to sound threatening.

"You bastard!" Seems like his friend didn't get the message, "How dare you!"

"How dare I _what_? Just stand here? Quite easily, actually" Shadow let his anger morph is teeth into fangs and his hands into claws.

The soldier glared, though he took a step back, "You're gonna pay for this."

Shadow gave him a cruel 'smile', "Well, I don't have any money right now. How about I pay you back later?"

"What's going on here?!"

That, unfortunately, had been a voice that Shadow had recognized. Link's father, the captain of the royal knights, approached in quick, determined strides. Shadow let his powers return him to a more human form and wondered if he should attempt to change into one of the Links to get out of trouble. He decided against it, he didn't think Hylians eyesight was bad enough to be able to trick at that distance and lighting. He'd just have to deal with it and talk to Green and Zelda about it in the morning - if they trusted his word against the captain's.

"Sir Arn!" the trainee saluted, "We were patrolling when this _thing_ attacked us."

The Captain had been examining the fallen trainee, though he glanced up to reply, "I'm _sure_ he did. Help your companion to the barracks, his helmet seems to have protected him from any serious injuries, but there will still be some pain left in the morning."

"Of course, Sir" came the answer.

Shadow contemplated whether or not he should use the opportunity to escape, or if he should at least try some damage control before his name was dragged through the mud by some asshole trainees. It wouldn't be too hard to sneak away. But he would end up causing more trouble for Zelda and Green, so he should probably try to deal with the situation himself first. It took a moment for the captain to ensure that the wannabe knight was stable enough to support his friend enough to take them back to the barracks. Then the captain turned to him.

"You alright?"

It took Shadow a lot of effort not to look surprised at the calm tone and unexpected question, "... Yeah."

"Good. I deal with those two in the morning, when they're awake enough to feel embarrassed in front of all their peers. That should keep incidents like this less frequent" he nodded, "Would you like me to walk with you to your room? There shouldn't be too many younger knights out, but that would keep any that are from doing something foolish."

"No" Shadow was hesitant, "I'm good."

"Alright. I'll see you around, then" He replied and walked off with a kind smile.

That didn't go the way Shadow had expected it to go. Though he was still on edge, he decided to walk back inside the castle. At least it was quiet and empty, thanks to Hylians preferring to schedule their sleep patterns around the day-night cycle. Which he supposed made sense, given their poor eyesight in poor lighting. The dark must be such a scary place for them, without the ability to admire it for its beauty.

Of course, the solitude and silence didn't last very long. As soon as Shadow rounded a corner, he spotted Green and Blue. They looked like they were in a hurry, faces flushed bright red. Though they didn't seem exhausted, since they weren't showing any other signs of fatigued. Though that could just be from Shadow's limited understanding of Hylian body functions. Either way, they both spotted him quickly enough, and must have guessed that he was the source of whatever they were looking for, as they went straight to him.

"We heard a commotion. Did something happen?" Green asked.

Shadow shrugged, "Nothing much. Your father took care of it."

"Good. We were worried" Green continued.

Blue glared at the direction that Shadow came from, "What happened out there exactly?"

"Like I said, nothing much" Shadow casted a suspicious look, "You know, Red was right. You two really need to work on your stamina if you were exhausted just from running a short distance."

There was a long pause between them.

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"What do mean by 'exhausted'?"

Shadow raised an eyebrow, "Your faces are red. Hylians do that when they're embarrassed or exhausted, right?"

That was when Shadow realized that he may have been wrong about them being exhausted. Blue's eyes went wide, as his face turned redder than an octorok. Green's face flushed as well, though not as badly as Blue's, and he stuttered for a moment, clearly trying to think of something to reply with. So, yeah, Shadow was starting to think that it may have been from embarrassment. He also hoped that Vio had been a better liar than Green, because otherwise he was an idiot. He was also wondering what could two of the heroes of Hyrule could possibly be so embarrassed about...

"We... uh... we were training" Green finally settled on, "It's just so much nicer when everyone asleep and it's quiet. Easier to concentrate."

"Just training?" Shadow tried not to smirk.

"Yeah, that's why... we were tried, and then we took a short break... that's why our faces were red" Green answered.

"So now issues with stamina in other areas, then?" Shadow continued.

Blue glowered, "Din's Fury, you're an ass! Come on, Parrot, let's leave Shadow to his brooding."

Green blushed more, "You'd think after two years, you'd have forgotten about that..."

" _'Parrot'_?" Shadow teased.

"For Hylia's sake, please stop talking Shadow" Blue grumbled, "Now go get some rest."

Shadow laughed hard at the reaction, as Blue grabbed Green by his shirt and tugged him away. Green just rolled his eyes, only following because it was probably easier (and, more likely, because it meant that he didn't have to come up with a separate reason to escape the situation). The two had headed off in a different direction, one that didn't lead to their sleeping quarters or the training grounds. That left Shadow to walk back to his room by himself, as he struggled to regain control of his laughter and amusement.

The hallways seemed to be completely empty, and he didn't run into anyone else, other than a few proper knights - the most he got from one of them was a suspicious look - so it seemed like his night wouldn't be made any more exciting by another assassination attempt. Which he could live with, he liked not having to deal with morons. Besides, he should probably get some rest, since Red seemed very determined to keep his cooking promise.

Before he reached his room, however, he paused for a moment. A strange feeling had washed over him. To add to the weirdness he was feeling, he had thought he had heard someone, a young woman, call his name. The hallway was empty though, and only the Links and the Queen were allowed down this wing of the castle. And he was certain he'd be able to recognise Zelda's voice. Yet he heard it again, this time he was able to locate the voice more accurately. It was coming from Vio's room.

He opened Vio's door and discovered that there wasn't anything truly remarkable about Vio's room at a first glance. Sure, it was a lot cleaner than it had been that morning (he could actually move around without bumping into a pile of books). The desk was still messy, though it was messy in a different way - clearly Vio had been busy. At the lack of source of the mysterious noise, he decided to just leave the room and close the door. But his attention was caught again by a whimper.

All thoughts of the mysterious voice disappeared as Shadow made his way over to Vio's bed in an instant. Vio shifted, his expression tight and pained, though it didn't seem to be because of Shadow's presence. It was a nightmare, then. It didn't seem to be too bad of one, from what Shadow could tell. It would probably fade away on its own, no intervention needed. But still, Vio already looked so tired, and nightmares on top of that probably didn't help.

"No... don't" Vio whispered to nothing, shifting once more, "Please... no..."

Shadow sat down his bed but whatever he had planned to do never happened because Vio wasn't finished, "... _I'm sorry_..."

The tone he had used made something in Shadow's chest jump - which then seemed to cave into an empty, bottomless pit. He gently soothed his hand to remove the bangs from Vio's forehead, before pressing his own against it. He whispered a Gerudo prayer, a simple spell that he had picked up that turned nightmares into dreams. This was a spell he had to discover and learn himself, and it was one he had mastered beautifully. It wasn't long before he felt Vio relax, any negativity from before disappearing. The spell would keep Vio asleep until dawn. Unless, it sensed danger, of course.

He pulled back to look at Vio. With his hair loose, and pushed back, it gave Shadow a clear view of his face. Vio looked content, at peace with the slight hint of a smile playing with the corners of his lips. Shadow could even see the seal Green had mentioned earlier, gold metal with purple gems wrapped around his ear. The feeling in his chest shifted a bit, not quite easing up completely. Seeing Vio look so peaceful brought up memories of the Tower of Flames. Ones that were once pleasant, and now were not so much.

They had spent so many nights together, scheming or just talking about random, silly things. Sometimes they would have to stop because Shadow had started laughing too hard, or Vio just kept yawning to the point where he couldn't complete a sentence. Vio would teach him how to play chess or would talk about books Link had enjoyed reading as a child. Shadow would spend those moments just listening Vio talk. And yet, Vio still asked him about his interests. Which led to conversations about dragons and magic and other embarrassing information he'd never let anyone else know.

Shadow felt something wet hit his hand and he wiped his face in frustration. He wouldn't cry - not over this, and not over Vio. It was stupid. But Shadow found himself completely on Vio's bed, head resting on Vio's chest as he listened to his heart beat. It was a weird place to find comfort, especially since it was the source of his distress. But Vio's heat beat seemed to calm him in some weird way. So, with his eyes watery, he laid and listened for a little while.


	7. Chapter 7

"Alright, let's start with what you know. What have you been taught, exactly?"

Vio stood in the center of the heroes' personal training grounds, with Shadow standing in front of him. Apparently, Green had been pretty adamant to get Shadow to start helping him with his magic as soon as possible. Red stood by the door, rather excited for the lesson as he held his two rods – a safety precaution that usually ended up being required. Blue, as usual, decided that he would attend, as he didn't trust magic and thought Vio would 'blow himself up', as he phrased it. Green also decided to attend the training session, with both red and green potions, because no one seemed to trust Vio with magic.

Though Shadow did bring some things with him as well. There were a few candles, nothing truly remarkable about them from what he could see. Four bowls that looked like they had Gerudian written on them (Vio would need a closer inspection to know for sure - he had learnt a little bit of the language). A bag, the contents of which Vio wasn't informed of. A couple of dark feathers - possibly from a crow or a raven, if he had to guess at the distance. He wasn't sure what all the materials could possibly be for, but the prospect of learning about it filled Vio with anticipation. That, coupled with the fact he was well rested, made Vio almost impatient to start the lesson.

Vio thought for a moment on the question, "Not much. Zelda and the Maidens have been busy, and I spent most of time occupied with... other matters. Most of my practice was during battle. Though Zelda did go over some of the basics. Grounding, reading, anchoring. A little bit on seals and basic spells – Nayru's Love, Din's Fire and Farore's Wind – though the last two elude me for the moment."

As Vio answered, he realized that he probably should have left certain things out. Grounding wasn't too unexpected – it was the process of regaining control over your magic if you lost control of it, stopping it from going wild and destroying everything. Since Shadow is aware that he can't control it, he probably would have expected Zelda to teach that to him first. Anchoring is a similar concept, except with someone else acting to keep you grounded, so that wouldn't have caused any alarms either.

But reading magic – being able to tell the difference between magic energies to recognize who casts certain spells – that might make Shadow uncomfortable. Especially when Vio could tell Shadow performed a spell of some kind on him, most likely some kind of sleep spell from his guess. He might not appreciate it if Vio brought that up. It would make things more awkward then they already were.

"That's still a lot, Vio" Red cheered.

"More than necessary, if you ask me" Blue muttered under his breath.

Shadow looked over at them, "Sorry, did you have something important to contribute to this lesson? 'Cause I'm willing to listen if you guys are experts. If not, then I'd apricate it if you'd shut up with the irrelevant interruptions."

Red's expression turned impish, "Yeah Blue, you really shouldn't interrupt Shadow when he's teaching."

Shadow, who wanted to be seen as someone to be taken seriously since he entered the room, snorted a laugh at that. Blue just rolled his eyes at that, gently tapping Red on the head as a mockery of reprimanding him. Vio decided to do the polite thing and hide his mirth behind his hand, as Green chuckled at the display. Both of which caused Blue to send them dirty looks. Red didn't look the least bit apologetic for his interruptions or his teasing comment, instead just giving Shadow and Vio a playful wink.

"Anyway, those are good places to begin training. Clearly Zelda knew what she was doing" Vio refused to let what Shadow implied sting, "I've heard that you can confidently enchant arrows, and that your Nayru's Love seems to work most of the time."

"Thankfully, Nayru's Love tends to work in field conditions. It still isn't as reliable as I'd like it to be" Vio stated.

Shadow nodded, "That's not surprising. Utilizing items to enable better control of magic is a pretty common thing that people can do if required – whether it's because their novices or because they can't control that kind of magic depends on the person. Weapons like swords tridents, items like staves or mirrors, and even instruments can be used to aid in magic control. So, of course, you'd find enchanting arrows easy."

"Then there are the three Divine spells Zelda taught you. The three Divine spells are nice a gateway into magic. Anyone can learn them and learning to control them should make controlling other magic easier. Though not everyone can make the most of the spells because of who they are, you should be able to do incredible things with them" Shadow lifted his hand and created a small, dark flame, "It's clear that your main problem is that you don't know your magic, just like your magic doesn't know you. So hopefully this should help overcome that obstacle a bit."

"You don't sound too sure about any of this. Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Blue asked.

"I know more than you" Shadow countered.

Red looked confused, "What did you mean by Vio's magic not knowing him?"

Shadow groaned, so Vio decided to explain, "There's a reason why people aren't able to use any type of magic they like and why they might be limited to certain kinds. Magic adapts to a person's experiences. Think of it like a farm – if you had a huge demand for one type of crop, you'd plant more of that crop. Just like if no one wanted a certain type of crop, it would be pointless to grow it, since you would only lose money and waste food. That doesn't mean that, years later, you could never plant that crop. It's just that if you tried, you'd find it a lot difficult and tiring."

"That is actually a pretty accurate way to describe it" Shadow said, "Since this magic didn't come from Vio, and wasn't shaped by Vio's experiences, no one can really guess what kind of magic it is. He could have entirely light-based magic, or dark-based magic. His magic could be offensive focused or defensive focused. It makes it difficult to know how to teach him."

"Wait, so how did your magic shape, Shadow? Weren't you in a similar situation as Vio when Ganon pulled you from the Dark World? You would have had to adapt to your magic in… uh…"

Green seemed to realize that the question he had asked was inappropriate, shifting so that he was touching shoulder-to-shoulder with Blue, able to grab his hand if needed. Shadow's ears flattened, and he visibly tensed at the comment. Which was probably what caused Green to be so uneasy. Vio already knew the answer just from that reaction. Shadow didn't have any experience with the situation Vio was in, because his magic developed a lot closer to the norm – developed by experiences from when he was younger, because he had been pulled from the mirror a lot earlier than any of them had realized.

Though Vio had suspected that that had been the case for a while. It hadn't been hard to pick up on the clues. Shadow seemed clueless on certain parts of Hylian, as well as certain parts of the original Link's life, which meant that he didn't share any knowledge or memories with him. That probably meant that when he first was pulled from the mirror, he had nothing. No memories, no knowledge, no identity. Yet by the time he had started the plans to take over Hyrule, he was fluent in two languages (Hylian and Gerudian), knew the basic of a third (one of the various Minish dialects, from Vaati, apparently), knew everything on Gerudo culture and certain parts of Hylian culture. Not to mention he could keep up with Vio in a discussion on history, and was rather cunning and strategic, something he probably trained for. Those weren't things that you learnt in just a couple of weeks.

Vio already had a theory about how Shadow's magic had shaped itself. His body could magically adapt to any situation by turning him into his shadow form, a more monstrous form (which according to Shadow, made him able to deal more damage and take more damage), as well as being able to shape shift into what he needed. There was also the fact that he had multiple teleportation options, when most people only learnt one. The thought of what could have happened in Shadow's past to inspire his magic to value self-defense, escape and deception over everything else made Vio stomach churn.

"You also have another problem" Shadow said as he turned to him, "You have a habit of thinking too much, and feeling too little – a common problem for you, of course. Which is why your magic works better when you're in combat. You have less time to overthink."

Vio ignored the reference to their conversation, and the feeling of the other's eyes on him. He knew that the others were trying to work out what he was thinking, how that comment had made him feel. Vio had no doubt that if they thought Shadow had hurt him, they would try to intervene. That wasn't necessary. Any chance of Shadow forgiving him needed to come naturally – if he felt forced into it by guilt, then the problems would be buried rather than dealt with. Which would cause the problems to surface later, at much more inconvenient times. He just needed to be patient and wait for the right moment to act. And if Shadow felt that there couldn't be any trust between them, then he would move on. He wouldn't torment himself with someone who couldn't love him. There wouldn't be a point.

"So, what would your recommendations be?" Vio inquired.

Shadow nodded, "I have a couple ideas. Adaptions of things I did in my own training when learning to control my own powers. It shouldn't be too hard to teach you to control your magic, even if you got it through unconventional means."

Red looked over at the stacked items, "Is that why you brought in all those things? They can help Vio with his magic?"

"Yep. I even got things that should stop property damage as well" Shadow answered.

"Well that's a relief, at least" Green visibly relaxed, "So what's the plan?"

Shadow grinned and walked over to his things, "I'm going to make Vio light a candle a couple of times."

"That's it? Lighting candles is going to fix Vio's magic?" Blue groaned, "You have got to be kidding."

Shadow ignored Blue's comment, seemingly busy from his task. He picked a few candles and placed them in a plain bowl (probably for easy transportation). He grabbed the bag rather easily, before he looked over his other things. Vio couldn't help but wonder what Shadow was planning exactly, since it seemed like his was prepared for more than just that. He could hear Green and Blue whispering theories about what was going on.

"He's going to light the candle with Din's Fire" Shadow answered when he turned around, "Since that spell in its most basic form is a small explosion of fire, the hard part is going to be not destroying the candle."

Green gave Shadow a look, "So you're encouraging is habit of destruction?"

"Like I said, I came prepared. Besides, this is about control more than anything. Vio's own magic will have to be used to shape Din's Fire, so he'll be able to get a feel for it a bit. Then he can more confidence in testing it out" Shadow replied.

With that out of the way, Shadow set everything down and began preparations. The first thing he did was open the bag, revealing it was full of light purple sand. Curiosity piqued, the heroes watched as Shadow scooped up some of the sand with a bowl, before using it to create a decent sized circle on the floor. He placed one candle in it and left the rest outside. A quick glance, and he seemed to be happy with the arrangement.

"The sand I'm using is typically used for those training with magic – it acts as a weak containment field for magical power, stopping it from damaging anything outside of the circle" Shadow explained, "It's not strong enough, or useful enough, for combat situations but it's effective at its job."

Vio examined it, "How does it work?"

"The sand is enchanted, if it senses uncontrolled magic or if magic tries to breach the circle, the magic activates. It absorbs the spell, then disappears. Which is good, because sand is really hard to clean up" Shadow answered.

"So, with this, Vio shouldn't be able to get hurt by his magic, right?" Red asked.

"Din's Fire is already a spell that doesn't affect the caster. But yeah, this should stop it in the unlikely chance it does happen" Shadow replied before turning to Vio, "Just remember not to get overwhelmed by thoughts, and try not to doubt yourself. This is a process that takes time."

"I'll keep that in mind" Vio smiled.

* * *

It was after an hour later, and the discovery that the sand didn't protect anyone from exploding candle wax (Vio was the only one not in danger), that most of the heroes decided to leave Shadow and Vio to their training. Green had been reluctant, but the threat of flying candle wax chunks still seemed pretty serious, so he was persuaded. Now he walked around the castle grounds. Mostly to stall for time, as it would be pretty obvious what was going on if he followed Blue on his patrol of the Queen's, very private, royal garden. There was no need to be obvious and get people gossiping, after all.

When Green entered the garden, Blue was where he usually was, though a little bird seemed to have landed on his head. Green burst into a fit of laughter at that, the bird nesting in Blue's hair as the latter glared in annoyance. Annoyance which only seemed to increase as Green started laughing. The leader wasn't worried, he had learnt to read Blue over the years. He could read him like a book.

"Something funny, Parrot?" Blue asked.

Green gave him a mock glare, "How can you say that with a straight face?"

"It's too amusing" Blue grinned.

Green rolled his eyes as he walked over to Blue, giving him a quick peck on the cheek, before he sat down beside him. The bench beneath him was warm from the sunlight, and not uncomfortably so. Where they were seated, they wouldn't be able to be seen easily by anyone that passed through, due to the plants and their placement. Blue coaxed he little bird to leave him then brushed a hand through his hair to return it back to its usual messy look.

"I'm worried about Shadow and Vio" Green stated.

Blue raised an eyebrow, "Why's that?"

"Shadow just seems so angry at him" Green sighed, "And I don't know if I should intervene whenever he decides to insult Vio. But I can't tell what Vio is thinking. I know he cares about Shadow, but I can't tell if he cares about what Shadow is saying."

"Shadow isn't angry – he's hurt, and he doesn't want to admit it. Vio might feel guilty, but he's tough and doesn't take shit. If Shadow crossed a line, Vio would deal with it himself" Blue replied.

Green nodded, "I guess I just want to fix everyone's problems. Which I think comes from the fact that I'm the leader of you, Vio and Red. So many arguments."

"Is that why you said that Red would be in charge if you couldn't be?"

"I've learnt a lot. The first thing I noticed since we drew the Four Sword was that leading you and Vio meant required a lot of mediating. So yes, Red – the one who will ask for help and can deal with your arguments – is in charge" Green answered.

Blue shrugged, "Vio and I get along great, I don't see where the problem."

"If I made you in charge, the others would have to deal with your recklessness, and your tendency to act first, think second. Not to mention that you don't like to admit when you're wrong. You'd have to deal with Vio – who you'll have to keep an eye one, because if he doesn't like a plan and doesn't think you'll change your mind, will pretend to follow it until it's time to enact his own plan" Green answered.

"Alright, that's fair" Blue replied, "What about Vio as a leader?"

"I'm mostly afraid that the power that comes with leadership will corrupt him and he'll take over Hyrule" Green paused while Blue laughed, "There's also the fact that he's secretive, and tends to only tell people what he thinks they need to know. Not to mention he doesn't mind using some underhanded tactics to win if needed."

"He's opened up a little. And I bet Shadow can get him to open up more" Blue countered.

Green sighed, "Yeah, maybe. If they ever get over this fight of theirs."

"Give 'em time."

* * *

Vio sat with his legs crossed in the center of the sand circle, focused on the candle in front of him. He had been trying to light candles for a while now, all attempts had been failures. Sweat dripped off of his hands, and he had pulled all his hair back into a tight ponytail to avoid his bangs sticking to his forehead. He tried to ignore it all the best he could; he needed to work out how to light the candle without destroying it. It shouldn't have taken him this long, this was a simple spell and one that should have been easy for him to manipulate magic.

Shadow had been silent the whole time, which contributed to Vio's sense of uneasiness. Shadow wasn't exactly the kind of person to be collected and silent, so it wasn't hard to feel as though he was being judged. His hands felt like they were shaking slightly. It was hard to get himself to focus on the candle in front of him, his mind just seemed to wonder. Typically to Shadow, which he guessed was fair with him in the room. And Vio caught his thoughts from going on a tangent again.

He jumped when hands covered his own, "I think you need to take a break."

"It's fine, I just–" Vio turned his head, and was surprised when his nose had bumped into Shadow's.

They promptly jumped away from each other, faces burning slightly. When had Shadow gotten so close, Vio thought he had been leaning against the wall and just watching him. Though now he looked concerned, wearily watching Vio with keen eyes. Which was probably fair, after what Vio had almost done by accident. He supposed he should apologize for that, it was inappropriate. Was the room actually tilted, or was that just Vio? Why was everything going dark?

The next thing that Vio noticed was that his eyes were closed, and someone was forcing him to drink something that tasted horrible. Unfortunately, he was very familiar with the taste of restless crickets to know that he was being fed an energizing elixir. He coughed it up, trying to sit up but his head exploded the second he tried. A vile was placed in his hand, and he drank it as he leaned against Shadow's chest. A hint of hearty lizard, and his headache eased up. Vio sighed with relief and managed to fight against a grimace through another green potion, a hand steadying him on the shoulder.

"You're pretty good at hiding your exhaustion, but you really should let people know when you're starting to reach your limit. This is dangerous, Vio" Shadow passed him a bottle.

Vio took it, grateful it was just water, "That's not my limit."

"Vio…"

"It's the seal" Vio continued, "Apparently the amount of magic I possess is dangerous on its own, even if I could control it. So, the seal limits my magical abilities."

"So, your body doesn't realize you've pushed yourself too far until your judgement has been impaired, and since you haven't had much practice, you don't know it either" Shadow realized.

"I never got the chance to overwhelm myself magic-wise. So, I guess I accomplished something today" Vio continued.

Shadow shook his head, "You did a lot more than that, actually. You might not have noticed, but you're starting to improve with your control. When you first started, you had difficulty even casting Din's Fire – but it seems like now you can access it a lot more easily."

"So, not a waste of your time then?" Vio smiled.

"Even if you hadn't learnt anything, it wouldn't have been a waste" Shadow shrugged.

"Is that so? I'm glad you feel that way."

Shadow tensed, "I didn't mean it like that! It's just… I…"

"It's alright, Shadow. I'm not to jump to any conclusions. If you don't say anything, I'm not going to twist your words in a way you wouldn't want me to" Vio answered.

"Oh."

Shadow looked slightly taken aback, so he continued, "It's not as kind as you think. I have selfish reasons behind doing so. The truth is, I love you a lot Shadow. So much that I want you in my life, even if it is just as a friend or comrade. Right now, I just don't think I have the strength to let you go. But you should also know that I don't plan to treat you that much differently than I treat the others – because I'm not willingly to cross the line into something you're not comfortable with."

"So, no special treatment just 'cause you love me" he smirked, "I can live with that, You can tell the others to stop it as well. It's subtle, I'll admit that, but I know you guys are going easy on me."

"What are you talking about?" Vio asked.

Shadow rolled his eyes, "Not an idiot, Vio. Are you really telling me that this is how most knights of Hyrule are treated?"

Actually, it was. Shadow wasn't officially a knight yet, but he had two separate conversations with Green and Zelda, and he appeared interested in it from what they said. They were more than happy to give him the responsibilities and title, but they couldn't do that until had an official meeting with certain members of the castle staff. Since Zelda herself had to be in the meeting, it had to be worked around her busy schedule, so it was taking some time. But Shadow should know about that already. Other than that, he hadn't been given any special treatment. At least, nothing more than what any of the heroes got.

"I see. So, this is just how you do things?" Shadow asked.

"Typically. Green's going a bit easy on me, since he wants me to get some rest. And our training schedule is different from the other knights" Vio explained, "We have it less strict, since we're usually facing much more dangerous foes. Though we do occasionally help out with minor tasks and problems."

"Huh. Neat" Shadow replied, "Hey Vio."

"Yes?"

"Thanks. For bringing me back."

There was a pause before Vio smiled and answered, "I'll always will."


End file.
